Select Your Kitten’s Stage
Use the cues below to figure out which stage your kitten is in, then tap it to see everything you need to know.
Still deciding? Compare them side by side
Weight, teeth, and how they move are the giveaways.
| Freshman 0–2 weeks |
Sophomore 2–4 weeks |
Junior 4–8 weeks |
Senior 8+ weeks |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 50–250 g | 250–450 g | 450–900 g | 900 g + |
| Eyes & ears | Shut, ears folded | Open blue, ears up | Fully alert | Colour changing |
| Teeth | None | Erupting ~3 wks | All baby teeth | All baby teeth |
| Movement | Wriggles only | Wobbly walking | Running, climbing | Full speed |
| Food | Bottle q2–3h, day and night | Bottle q3–4h, gruel ~3½ wks | Pâté 4×/day + kibble | Wet + dry, 3×/day |
| Warmth | 85–90 °F, essential | ~80 °F, half cool | Room temp + bed | Room temp |
| Bathroom | You stimulate | Stimulate, then tray | Litter trained | One box each +1 |
| Vet | Visit in 24–48 h, no vaccines | Deworm ~3 wks | FVRCP 6–8 wks | Boosters, rabies, surgery |
| Your job | Keep them alive and warm | Start weaning and handling | Socialise, socialise, socialise | Fix, chip, find a home |
What each stage needs
Bottle every 2–3 hours around the clock, an outside heat source at 85–90 °F, and help going to the bathroom after every feed. Weigh daily. This stage is genuinely hard — call us before you start.
Bottle every 3–4 hours, nest around 80 °F with a cool side they can crawl to. Gruel starts near 3½ weeks; a shallow non-clumping litter tray goes down around the same time. Daily gentle handling begins.
Off the bottle and onto pâté four times a day, kibble and water always out. First FVRCP vaccine at 6–8 weeks. Most importantly: this is the socialisation window that decides their adult personality. Handle them, often, with different people.
Fully independent: kitten wet and dry three times a day, one litter box per kitten plus one. Boosters every 3–4 weeks to 16 weeks, rabies at 12–16, and spay/neuter is safe at 2 lb. Then home — ideally two kittens together.
Useful at every age
The rest of the library is organised by stage on the four pages above.